What you need to know about Ebola

The Royal Melbourne Hospital is the designated state-wide service for Viral Haemorrhagic Fever, which includes receiving patients with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

We’d like to reassure the community that their safety, and the safety of our staff and patients is always our highest priority.

The RMH is ready and prepared should we receive a suspected case of Ebola and our staff have been thoroughly trained to provide high quality and safe care to these patients.

As part of our preparedness, staff have undertaken daily drills on how to manage a suspected or confirmed Ebola case. They have also practised how to correctly and safely wear their personal protective equipment.

In the unlikely event that we receive a patient with Ebola, only trained and experienced staff will care for them using purpose built isolation facilities and personal protective equipment.

We’d like to remind the community that Ebola is not spread via the airborne route – it is spread through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people or animals.

You can be assured:

The safety of our staff, patients and the community is always our highest priority.

There has never been a case of Ebola in Australia.

In the unlikely event of receiving a patient infected with Ebola, they will be cared for in the purpose built isolation facilities.

Only trained and experienced staff will care for Ebola infected patients in the purpose built isolation facilities.

Staff caring for Ebola infected patients will always use personal protective equipment which the RMH has supplied at a higher level than international guidelines allow, to ensure maximum protection for staff.